Absorbent articles for personal hygiene, such as disposable baby diapers, training pants for toddlers or adult incontinence undergarments, are designed to absorb and contain body exudates, in particular urine. These absorbent articles comprise several layers providing different functions, typically including a topsheet, a backsheet and in-between an absorbent core, among other layers.
The absorbent core should be able to absorb and retain the exudates for a prolonged amount of time, for example overnight for a diaper, minimize re-wet to keep the wearer dry, and avoid soiling of clothes or bed sheets. The majority of currently marketed absorbent cores comprise as absorbent material a blend of comminuted wood pulp cellulose fibers with superabsorbent polymers (SAP) in particulate form, also called absorbent gelling materials (AGM), see for example U.S. Pat. No. 5,151,092 (Buell).
Absorbent articles having a core consisting essentially of SAP as absorbent material (so called “airfelt-free” cores) have also been proposed. WO95/11652 (Tanzer) discloses absorbent articles which include superabsorbent material located in discrete pockets. WO2008/155699 (Hundorf) discloses an absorbent core comprising first and second absorbent layers each comprising an absorbent particulate polymer material such that the absorbent particulate polymer material is substantially continuously distributed across an absorbent particulate polymer material area. WO2012/170778 (Rosati et al., see also WO2012/170779, WO2012/170781 and WO2012/170808) discloses absorbent structures that comprise superabsorbent polymers, optionally a cellulosic material, and at least a pair of substantially longitudinally-orientated absorbent material free zones that can form channels as the absorbent structure absorb a fluid.
There is a continuous need to improve the wearing comfort of absorbent articles. The absorbent cores of the prior art can become stiff when they absorb a fluid. It is desirable to provide absorbent cores which provide a good fit in wet and dry conditions, are flexible so as to allow the maximum freedom of movement for the wearer and which can be made economically at high production speed while keeping optimal fluid management properties.